Better late than never: Vodafone arrives at the 4G/LTE party

Network open to customers from June with 2000 new sites and 750 additional staff in Tasmania

Telecommunications provider, Vodafone, appears to be the latest to join the 4G/LTE party, announcing "the pending arrival" of its own 4G network across five capital cities.

In a statement, Vodafone said a staged roll-out will reach Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, Wollongong, Newcastle and the Gold Coast.

Vodafone said its customers will be "invited" to join the 4G network from June.

The telco claims its offering "will potentially be Australia's fastest" and will have "speed capable of exceeding what's already on offer to Australian mobile consumers."

The speeds will depend on congestion, local conditions, hardware and software, among other things, Vodafone noted in its statement.

The new 4G network will be supported by nearly 2000 new sites which Vodafone said it will add this year.

Bringing jobs to Australia

In addition to the network, Vodafone has confirmed it will be on-shoring customer contact by adding 750 persons to its existing headcount of 650 customer connecting services employees. These will be based in Kingston, Tasmania.

The telco assured the move does not represent a decline in its Indian operations, stating that the off-shore centre is important and will continue to be used for back-end work.